“Yes, it’s me.”
She crossed her arms. “What brings you here?”
“Don’t play coy with me, Tory. I know you ran into Violet.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I know what you said to her.”
“She’s making it up. I barely said anything to her.”
He slammed his hand on the counter. Tory jumped. He’d never lay a hand on a woman, but he wanted Tory’s attention. “Don’t lie to me. I know what you said. Violet has no reason to lie to me.”
“She’s doing this for the money. Don’t you see that? I’m trying to save you from her.”
“I don’t need saving, Tory. Except maybe from you. Now I’m going to visit my lawyer and he’s going to file a restraining order against you. You are not to come near Violet or me. Ever.”
“I think you’re over reacting, Amedeo.”
“No, I’m not.”
“That woman is carrying my child and I intend to make sure that she is safe and healthy.”
“Then what? You raising a child? You’re a child yourself.”
As if she would have any idea who he was anymore. She’d managed to change him. By her leaving him, he’d grown up, but she wouldn’t know that. He didn’t care to enlighten her. None of her business.
“Doesn’t matter what you think, Tory. Leave us alone.”
“You’re going to look like a fool when she isn’t pregnant.”
“I’ve seen the ultrasound, Tory. She’s got a baby growing inside of her.”
Tory snorted, but Amedeo had lost his patience for her. What had he seen in this woman? He must have been blinded by sex or something. She didn’t seem even remotely attractive to him now.
He drove to his lawyer’s office. He had a few things for the man to do. His office occupied the front of his house. At some point Clark DuPont would have to move to a bigger place, but for now he worked from home.
Amedeo parked his car in the driveway, then hopped out. His lawyer didn’t have a receptionist his practice was that new and that small. Clark had worked for Amedeo in his law department, but had branched out on his own. Amedeo used him for his personal legal matters.
Clark stood and came out from behind his desk. “Hey, Amedeo.”
The two men hugged. Clark remained Amedeo’s only non-Italian friend who hugged him.
“What brings you to this neck of the woods?”
“I have some legal work, of course.”
“Oh?”
Clark sat back down.
“A restraining order.”
“I always knew you had to beat off the women, Amedeo. It’s that Italian charm.”
“Just one woman,” he said.
“Oh?”
“Tory. She’s harassing me and she’s harassing Violet.”
“Who’s Violet?”
“A woman I got pregnant and who I am now taking care of.”
“Do you know it’s yours?”
“Not sure. She’s already agreed to let me take a paternity test when the baby is born.”
“You should still have a formal agreement of what you are going to do for her.”
Amedeo pondered that. Might put Violet’s mind at ease. “Okay we can work on that, too. The restraining order is most important.”
“Tory’s trying to get back in your good graces? What a hoot.”
“That’s not how it looks from my perspective.”
“I’m sure not. I’ll need her address so it can be sent to her once I file it with the court.”
“Not a problem. I’ll email you that when I get back to the office.”
“How’s your brother doing with his new wife?”
“Doing well. They are expecting their first child soon. I think in the next month or so,” Amedeo said.
Clark nodded as he typed on his keyboard. “Okay. I’ve got a template for a restraining order. Let’s get this started.”
***
Violet woke up in the night needing to use the bathroom. She did that more and more and the baby wasn’t even big at this point. She’d spend her whole day in there once it was big.
She noticed a bit of discomfort in her abdomen and thought maybe it was the tacos they’d had for dinner. Maybe spicy wasn’t a good idea while she was pregnant.
She used the toilet then realized that she has spotting on her pajama bottoms. Just spots of red. She was sure it was blood. She stared at it for a minute, not sure what to do. She wasn’t cramping, but she did feel odd.
She sat on the closed lid of the toilet, pondering this. Should she call the doctor? Go to the emergency room? Not wanting to alarm Amedeo, she sat there for a few more minutes.
Would he take her concerns seriously? She didn’t know if this was supposed to happen or not. She’d never been pregnant before this. Her instincts told her that she should see a doctor.